Overview of International Human Rights

These Guidelines set out the basic steps government agencies should follow to meet their reporting, implementation and follow up (RIF) obligations under the core international human rights treaties New Zealand has ratified.

The Guidelines are designed to assist all agencies involved in international human rights processes and help with a consistent and coordinated approach to human rights monitoring and reporting (ERS-21-MIN-0047). They will be updated as needed.

While some parts of the Guidelines will be more relevant for the lead agencies for individual human rights treaties and reports, most agencies will be involved in RIF processes in some form, as a subject-matter agency.

International human rights reporting, implementation and follow-up provides value to New Zealand

Human rights monitoring and reporting enables New Zealand to meet its commitments to the core human rights treaties we have ratified, and delivers concrete benefits for New Zealand by: 

• • Contributing to fundamental human rights in New Zealand: The reports provide a valuable source of information about human rights in New Zealand. The consideration and implementation of recommendations can help strengthen human rights.
  • Affirming the importance of a rules-based international order: New Zealand is a small country and relies on a strong international legal system to protect its rights and interests.  Participating in international human rights mechanisms contributes to the strength of that system and reflects our commitment to a system based on fairness and equality for everyone. Good quality reporting and implementation of recommendations also shows that we are open and honest about where we are doing well, where we need to improve, and how we make progress.

These Guidelines have five key goals

A consistent and coordinated approach to human rights reporting and implementation, as set out in these Guidelines, will help to fully realise the value of these processes. The Guidelines have five key goals:

• • Our reporting processes are efficient: processes do not require more resources than is necessary to create a quality product.
  • Our reporting processes are inclusive: Human rights organisations and the general public can engage meaningfully, be heard, and contribute to the outcome. Reporting agencies have the capacity to engage adequately.
  • Our human rights reports are of high quality: Our reports are a high-quality source of information about human rights in New Zealand. They are used domestically to contribute to a data-driven public service and to inform public discussion about human rights issues.
  • Government agencies are accountable: We have a process to consider recommendations and track progress towards measurable human rights targets in a transparent way and are accountable for achieving targets.
  • Human rights are embedded in our public service culture: A solid understanding of human rights is built into our public service. Monitoring and reporting are seen not as a compliance exercise but as an important tool for quality policy work and service delivery.

The Guidelines support the wider National Mechanism for Reporting, Implementation and Follow-up (NMIRF)

The Guidelines support New Zealand’s National Mechanism for Reporting, Implementation and Follow-up (NMIRF). An NMIRF is a permanent standing Government structure with a mandate to: 

• • coordinate and prepare reports to, and engage with, the international and regional human rights mechanisms (including treaty bodies, the Universal Periodic Review and special procedures)
  • coordinate and monitor national follow-up and implementation of the treaty obligations and recommendations/decisions emanating from these mechanisms.

New Zealand has an inter-ministerial NMIRF, as there are several Ministers that hold responsibility for New Zealand’s international human rights commitments. This NMIRF is based around the International Human Rights Governance Group (the Governance Group), these Guidelines and an online national monitoring tool, the Human Rights Monitor.(external link)

Governance Group agencies (Ministry of Justice, Whaikaha, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry for Women, Statistics New Zealand and Te Puni Kōkiri) are collectively responsible for New Zealand’s inter-ministerial NMIRF. However, the success of the NMRF requires all Government agencies to cooperate fully with the Governance Group, follow the established Guidelines, and contribute regularly to the Human Rights Monitor.(external link)

Further information and guidance on National Mechanisms for Reporting and Follow-Up can be found the United Nations Human Rights website:

• A practical guide to effective state engagement(external link)
• Key capacities and UN support to strengthen them(external link)
• A study of state engagement with international human rights mechanisms(external link)

The Human Rights Monitor also supports the NMIRF

New Zealand’s national online monitoring tool, Human Rights Monitor, is a key instrument in RIF processes, particularly supporting monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of recommendations. The tool can be found at humanrights.govt.nz(external link)

The website is public facing, increasing transparency and accountability to New Zealand’s human rights commitments as well as improving agency coordination. 

The Human Rights Monitor brings together recommendations New Zealand has received from UN human rights bodies and the actions the Government is taking to implement them. Process step indicators are assigned to these actions, so that progress on them can be tracked over time.  Both lead and subject-matter agencies are required to provide regular updates to the tool. 

The Human Rights Monitor can filter recommendations, actions and indicators by various category groups, including reporting cycles, recommending states, human rights issues, affected persons and government agencies responsible. Actions in the Monitor can also be filtered by progress status and by SMART criteria.

Specific steps for lead and subject-matter agencies relating to the Human Rights Monitor are discussed in further detail throughout these Guidelines. 

The international human rights framework

The international human rights framework has its foundations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on 10 December 1948.  The UDHR was followed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1996 as well as seven other conventions covering racial discrimination (1965), discrimination against women (1979), torture and ill-treatment (1984), children (1989), migrant workers (1990), enforced disappearances (2006) and disabled people (2006).  New Zealand is party to seven of these nine core international human rights treaties.

Several of these treaties have optional protocols. Optional protocols contain additional obligations that States Parties to the primary treaty can choose to accept.

Each treaty has a treaty body (UN Committee) responsible for monitoring States Parties

There are 10 human rights treaty bodies composed of independent experts of recognized competence in human rights, who are nominated and elected for fixed renewable terms of four years by State parties. The nine primary treaties each have a UN Committee (or ‘treaty body’) that is responsible for monitoring implementation of that treaty. The Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) was also established in 2006, pursuant to the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). 

Each treaty requires States Parties to submit reports periodically to the relevant treaty body.  The reports provide statistical information and describe measures taken to give effect to the treaty.  The reporting period varies but is generally between four and eight years. 

Most treaty bodies  now use the ‘simplified reporting procedure’ which requires the treaty body to send a ‘List of Issues Prior to Reporting’ (LOIPR) to the State Party before it submits its report which responds to the LOIPR. The typical reporting process is outlined later under Standard Treaty Body Reporting Cycle. 

As the simplified reporting procedure is the most common, this is what is covered by these Guidelines. 

The Universal Periodic Review is conducted by the Human Rights Council 

The Human Rights Council is the main body within the UN that is responsible for promoting and protecting human rights across the world. It consists of 47 UN Member States elected by the General Assembly. Its mandate includes examining the human rights record of all UN Member States under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

The UPR occurs for each country approximately every five years. It is unique in that it is essentially a peer review by other countries. All States report on the actions that they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their own countries and participate the review of other countries by making recommendations. 

Recommendations received during the UPR are formally supported, supported in part, or noted, by the Member State being reviewed.  The figure 1 outlines the process.

Figure 1: Universal periodic review process

Agency responsibilities 

In New Zealand, the domestic lead responsible for drafting reports for each treaty sits with different agencies based on the subject matter of the particular treaty.

Table 1: Agency responsibilities for treaties

Treaty/Mechanism	Abbreviation	Lead agency
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights	ICCPR	Ministry of Justice
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights	ICESCR	Ministry of Justice
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment	CAT	Ministry of Justice
Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	CERD	Ministry of Justice
Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women	CEDAW	Ministry for Women
Convention on the Rights of the Child	CRC	Ministry of Social Development
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	CRPD	Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People
Universal Periodic Review	UPR	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (report) Ministry of Justice (review and mid-term report)

These lead agencies are responsible for coordination within different stages of the reporting process including: preparing draft reports for approval by Cabinet; consulting civil society and iwi/Māori as Treaty of Waitangi partner; supporting delegations for the examination; drafting follow-up reports on recommendations and monitoring progress with implementation.

Many other agencies participate in the reporting process by providing statistical and other information for reports and by attending examinations. This means that international human rights processes involve a wide range of government agencies across different stages in the process. An important part of agencies’ involvement is the implementation of recommendations which needs to be progressed proactively by the subject matter agencies. 

Standard Treaty Body Reporting Cycle

A diagrams of the standard treaty body reporting cycle and typical timeline are provided in figures 2 and table 2 below.

Figure 2: Simplified reporting procedure

Table 2: Timeline for a typical simplified reporting cycle

The reporting cycle starts with the List of Issues Prior to Reporting, issued by the relevant UN Committee (or ‘treaty body’). This usually happens at least 12 months before the State report is due but can be earlier. The LOIPR is a set of questions which will need to be answered in the report. Civil society can significantly influence the contents of the LOIPR by communicating directly to the treaty body concerned or to the Human Rights Council. 

Following the submission, the relevant treaty body examines the report, which includes meeting with a delegation from the State in Geneva. This usually happens one to two years after submission of the report, however, it depends on the Committee’s workload. 

New Zealand delegations are led either by a Minister or a senior official (Chief Executive or Deputy). The Committee also hears from the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, as New Zealand’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), and other non-government organisations (NGOs) and civil society.

The treaty body then issues concluding observations that take note of positive developments and make recommendations which can be quite specific. The State Party is required to update the treaty body on its response to the recommendations either in its next periodic report, or earlier if requested. Usually, treaty bodies will ask for an update within 12-24 months on three to five recommendations it considers urgent.

Between receipt of concluding observations and the next LOIPR, the State Party is expected to make progress on the recommendations. These Guidelines outline a domestic process for implementation. 

The principles also apply to the UPR but the processes differ.

Further information

The treaty bodies have different procedures and information requirements, and these Guidelines cannot cover all of them. Agencies should make sure to check the specific treaty body’s guidelines that can be found on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The OHCHR must only be contacted via MFAT and the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, who can clarify specific questions such as timing.

• 2009 Compilation of guidelines on international human rights reports(external link)
• OHCHR Training on treaty body reporting(external link)
• United Nations Training Guides(external link)
• 2010 Guidelines for the treaty-specific document to be submitted by States Parties under article 40(external link)
• Human Rights Committee overview of the reporting cycle(external link)
• 2010 - simplified reporting procedure(external link)

Civil Society Involvement 

Civil society and iwi/Māori, as Treaty of Waitangi partner are also involved in international human rights reporting cycles. The government should seek the public’s input throughout the full reporting cycle. 

The opportunities for civil society to engage at a domestic level throughout the reporting processes are discussed in the relevant sections of these Guidelines. It is good practice to engage with civil society before or during drafting a report, in addition to when recommendations are received. 

Civil society is any member of the public that has an interest in human rights issues. This could be human rights defenders, human rights NGOs, community groups, bar associations, human rights lawyers, student clubs, trade unions, university institutes, bloggers, environmental rights activists, or charities working with particular groups. However, this term is not limited to advocacy groups but also includes the public in general, and specific population groups. 

Some Conventions have specific mechanisms for civil society involvement, such as the Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) for the UNCRPD. 

Anyone can directly contact UN bodies, for example through the OHCHR (see below). Cooperation with civil society is a priority for the OHCHR. The OHCHR wants to build knowledge and skills about international human rights among civil society actors. It also seeks to promote civil society participation in both UN decision-making processes and UN advocacy. Civil society provides UN mechanisms with reliable independent information about situations and developments in a country. The treaty bodies are working towards consistent processes to improve civil society engagement.

The Human Rights Commission (our NHRI) is also an intermediary between civil society and the government, as well as international human rights bodies.

For the government, civil society involvement is important. Civil society contributes significant expertise, raises awareness, helps develop good human rights standards, monitors the government and holds it accountable. Civil society involvement can also improve levels of acceptance of government decisions through scrutiny.

Any engagement should be based on identified good principles. For more information on these see: 

• Civil Society (OHCHR website)(external link)
• OHCHR Handbook for Civil Society(external link)
• DPMC Community Engagement Tool(external link)
• Universal Periodic Review information(external link)

Role of the Human Rights Commission (and related domestic bodies)

Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission is our NHRI. The function of NHRIs is to promote and protect human rights independently from Government. 

NHRIs play an important role in relation to international human rights and ensuring that civil society is involved in processes. Given their independence from government and expertise, NHRIs can improve the treaty reporting process by working with State entities responsible for preparing reports, either by contributing to analyses, or reviewing and commenting on drafts 

NHRIs can also raise awareness of treaty bodies processes among other domestic actors, such as NGOs, professional groups, trade unions and academics, in order to encourage them to participate in the country reviews. NHRIs play a more direct role by providing information to treaty bodies. As a result, treaty bodies rely on NHRI input in assessing reports submitted by states.

Agencies should ensure that they work with the Human Rights Commission on international reporting processes. 

There are other entities within the New Zealand public sector with significant functions relating to human rights. These include Mana Mokopuna the Children and Young People’s Commission, the Independent Police Conduct Authority, The Privacy Commissioner, the Health and Disability Commissioner and the Office of the Ombudsman. These entities need to be involved appropriately in international human rights reporting processes.

Glossary of terms

CAT	UN Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
CEDAW	UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
CERD (or UNCERD)	UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination
CPED or CED	International Convention for the Protection of all persons from Enforced Disappearance
CRPD	Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
CWN	Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ILO)
ICCPR	International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICESCR	International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
ILO	International Labour Organisation (has some international human rights treaties)
LOIPR	List Of Issues Prior to Reporting
MFAT	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
MFW	Ministry for Women
MOJ	Ministry of Justice
MSD	Ministry of Social Development
NGO	Non-Governmental Organisation
NPA	National Plan of Action (run by the NZ Human Rights Commission)
NHRI	National Human Rights Institution (in NZ the Human Rights Commission)
NMiRF	National Mechanism for reporting, implementation and follow up
NPM	National Preventive Mechanism
OHCHR	UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
OPCAT	Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture
RIF	Reporting, Implementation and Follow-up
SPT	Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture (UN)
UDHR	1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UNCRC (or CRC or UNCROC)	UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
UNDRIP	UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
UPR	Universal Periodic Review
UPR info	NGO based in Switzerland supporting the UPR process